In January

This January my husband turned 40 years old.  Since he was only 4 when he had his golden birthday and his family didn't celebrate it, we decided to make his 40th his golden birthday.  Forty on the 4th works too, right?!  He didn't want a big party, but wanted to do several small parties so that the groups were more intimate. 

His first party was a gaming weekend with a few of his brothers.  David and Chris came to our house and they played computer games, ate food, watched movies and tried out a new card game that Daniel bought for Christmas. 

Paul, David, Seth, Chris and Daniel.  Mark was still in California, much to his chagrin.

Chris and Jane

I was trying to turn Paul's frown upside down. 

His second party was to go out to Olive Garden as a family.  We planned on going on his birthday, but Jane was sick and it took a few days before we could head out.  My parents joined us and we stuffed ourselves silly.  Daniel was even kind enough to not order dessert because I always feel awkward when everyone is enjoying foods that I can't eat.

His third party was to see the movie Les Miserables with our friends Ed and Madeleine Giles.  We both cried during several parts of the movie.  It was beautiful.  I was really glad to have Daniel to hold onto during the war scenes.  I saw the stage production when it came to SLC about 16 years ago.  It was a wonderful experience, but I remember it being quite lewd.  I was glad that they toned down the "Lovely Ladies" to keep it PG-13.  I was young and naïve, but I was embarrassed by things that were happening on that stage.  Here are a few comparisons between the stage and the movie. The stage production was more sexually crude while the movie was more violent. I understood the storyline better and felt the emotions of the songs better with the movie because it was more obvious what was being portrayed (because you could see the faces close up in the movie where the stage version they are far away).  

After the movie we went back to our house for dinner.  We played a card game, well everyone but me and Jane played a card game.  I needed to excuse myself from the group to call my sister-in-law.  I had one of those moments where I knew that she needed to talk.  If I didn't have people over I would have gone over to her (sorry Wendy).  Her mom had a heart attack the day before and she needed to talk.  Thankfully my guests were being entertained by the boys- I'm not sure if they even noticed that I was gone!

Part four of Daniel's big-deal birthday will happen tomorrow night. We are going to go indoor skydiving. This is the part that he is really excited for!  

This January my family turned 14 years old.  I can hardly believe that Daniel and I have been married for 14 years.  We only knew each other for a little over 6 months before we were married.  I have reminded myself time and time again how lucky we are that our relationship is good, strong and healthy.  It seems that I am around a lot of people who are unhappy in their marriage, so I am very happy to be in a great marriage.  Knowing that we didn't know much about marriage before we tied the knot, we didn't truly know what to look for in a partner. I really lucked out.  I am very blessed to be married to Daniel.  Is he a perfect person/husband?  No!  But he is the perfect husband for me. 

Our family has a lot of celebratory events in December and January, so by the time our anniversary comes along, we are partied out.  We have all of the events leading up to and including Christmas, then two weeks later is Daniel's birthday, then two weeks later is our anniversary and then two weeks after that is Valentine's day.  We aren't into big celebrations, so it can be tricky to make things feel important.  We didn't do anything overly special for our anniversary, but we had a good evening together as a family playing some card games and being silly (however, those of us who have names that begin with the letter 'S' were a bit ornery- why is January such a hard month for me emotionally?)

I made some cinnamon rolls that were gluten and dairy free.  They were good for a gf/df treat, but they weren't as good as their gluten counterparts.  I used this recipe: http://www.thebakingbeauties.com/2011/01/best-gluten-free-cinnamon-buns-or-rolls.html
We finished the batch in a hurry, but I was disappointed because the reviews were so good.  The dough was like a biscuit rather than like a pastry/bread.  I really need to figure out a recipe that has workable dough. 

This January I applied for the boys to attend a charter school.  I am really frustrated with our elementary school staff right now.  I had a confrontation with the front office staff about their check-in policy of giving our car keys to the secretary in exchange for the visitors pass.  I've just bypassed the checking in station at the school  for the past 4+ years.  But now we have to walk through the front office to get into the school and it isn't an option for me anymore. I'm not sure why I am so put off about the key issue, but I am.  Other people don't mind as much as I do.   

This January I decided to work on playing the piano daily.  I have a few songs that I am working on memorizing.  I have really enjoyed playing the piano again.  Daniel bought me a piano book with music from the Miyazaki films that our family loves (Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro, Howls Moving Castle, etc).  The beauty of music is that it is universal.  All of the text is in Japanese, but I can still play the music! 

This January I bought a new sewing machine.  My old one broke in December a few weeks before Christmas.  I had in my mind to make a few last minute projects (like doll clothes for Jane) but when it broke, I took it as my sign to put sewing projects away and just keep the sanity.  It was nice to not worry about any last minute projects!  My new machine is beautiful!  I got it on a clearance for half of the regular price.  It has a lot of bells and whistles and I am excited to do more quilting with it.  Perhaps I will introduce y'all to Big Blue soon. 

Recipes

I've made a goal to try one new recipe a week.  I have used Pinterest as my inspiration source, so I will never run out of options to try!  I thought that I'd keep track of what I've made here on my blog. I most likely will not be posting pictures of the food because I am not great at photographing food.  I don't think that I'd remember to take the picture as we are all sitting down to eat anyhow! Here is a rundown of the recipes I've made so far this month:

Roasted Carrots
http://voraciousvander.com/2011/12/05/the-best-way-to-cook-zucchini-and-carrots/

We had a big bag of carrots that we needed to use up, so I tried roasting them and I loved them.  They really do need to be eaten right away, so plan on pulling them out of the oven right before sitting down to eat.  The carrots were ready to eat 10 minutes before the rest of the dinner was ready and I snacked on them while I finished the dinner.  I ate nearly all of the carrots and the last few were cold and not so yummy.  I'll need to make these again so that my family can try them! 




Blackened Chicken and Quinoa with Cilantro and Lime
http://www.sarcasticcooking.com/2012/03/15/blackened-chicken-and-cilantro-lime-quinoa/

I made the chicken per the directions and we loved it.  The chicken was moist and had a good kick to it.  The cooking spices did cause everyone to cough a bit- I opened a window and ran a fan the next time I made this.  We don't have a vent above our stove. 

The quinoa was okay.  Not my favorite.  It took forever for the broth to cook out.  I put in a bit too much lime juice (Daniel loved it and I really didn't!).  I didn't have any Greek yogurt, so we just used chopped up avocados. 

I made this meal again last night and I used rice instead of quinoa.  We served it with broccoli and it went over quite well.  This is definately a keeper. 


Cinnamon Churro Chex Mix
http://zitzmanfam.blogspot.com/2012/03/cinnamon-churro-chex-mix.html

Before going gluten-free, I used to get those big churros at Costco a lot.  I really like cinnamon and these were delightful.  I loved how crunchy the outsides were and how soft the insides were.  I prefered a churro over a donut anytime.  I still remember licking the cinnamon sugar off of the corners of my lips after eating the last bite.  This Chex mix looked and sounded promising.  I even broke my no-dairy rule for this treat as the cinnamon chips have dairy in them (but oddly enough, no cinnamon).  The chips tasted more like how I remember butterscotch tasting. 

The boys really liked the mix, but I did not.  It wasn't close enough to a churro to deserve the name in the title.  This recipe is not a keeper for me.  I made up a batch of regular Muddy Buddies to eat instead.  (When making Muddy Buddies to be dairy-free, I do not use butter/margarine at all- I put in more peanut butter instead!)

Sweet Baby Jane

Okay, I know that Jane isn't a baby anymore- this is a fact that makes me rather sad.  Jane is growing up and learning more things with every passing week.  On Tuesday Paul and Seth will go back to school.  They have been home since before Christmas.  I have loved having them home and it is going to seem so strange to have them be gone all day.  Jane is going to miss having them around, too.  When I think about how (relatively) quiet it will be when it is just me and Jane at home during the day I am very grateful to have my sweet little Jane to spend time with.  She is such a delightful little girl.  Sure, she has her days where she isn't at her best, but don't we all?  I know that all too soon she will be gone all day too, so I am trying to relish the time that I have left with her. 

I was telling my friend about some of the funny things Jane does and she told me that I should write them down (thanks Shelley!).  So, I sat down to write a few things- she is such a delight! 

• Jane calls a knife a "ching ching".  She loves to get a butter knife out of the kitchen drawer and hang it through her belt loop.  She will chase around the house swinging her knife like a sword and yell out "ching, ching!" 
• The other day she picked out a video to watch.  She wanted to watch the cartoon version of Godzilla.  I watched her standing in front of the TV watching the movie in her cute little skirt, tights (with ruffles on the bum), frilly t-shirt and hair done up with ribbons while watching Godzilla and swinging her ching ching- I realized that it is pretty obvious that she has older brothers!
• Jane will get on all fours and meow like a cat.  I will say things like "what a pretty kitty", or "what a good little kitty" and she will crawl around my legs or climb onto my lap while I pet her head and rub her back.  The other day I asked if she was ready for her nap and she started to act like a cat. I carried the "kitty" to her room and put her in her bed.  She meowed for a song, so I meowed Twinkle Star to her and she thought that it was so funny! 
• She loves to dance.  When I play the piano, or when Daniel listens to music in the office,  she will dance around.  I am amazed at how well she does with repeating dance moves that we do.  I love how her curly hair bounces up and down when she dances.
• When dancing around, sometimes Jane will call out "doggie" and she will get on all fours and howl.
• If Jane wants you to ask her something, she will say the question that she wants you to ask to you.  For example, she will bring a jar of peanut butter and a spoon to me and say "want some help?" or if she wants to eat what you are eating, she will say "want some?"
• Jane offered Daniel a cracker, but at the last second she put it in her mouth instead of Daniel's.  When he asked where it was, she just opened her mouth and pointed inside!
• Daniel has called Jane "Sheldon" at times because of her obsession with the first bar stool in the kitchen.  Sometimes that is the only place that she wants to sit.  She will throw fits if one of the boys sit there.  (Sheldon is a character in the TV show "The Big Bang Theory" and he has his special spot on the couch).
• Jane love to work on little puzzles.  We have been going to the South Jordan library story time and when they have playtime she heads for the box of puzzles.  I pulled out the puzzles from our stash and she plays with them several times a day.
• While at story time, a bunch of the kids were getting loud and Jane shushed them.  Perhaps she gets shushed a little too much at home?  (Jane is really loud at times- she is happy, but loud and sometimes I try to get her to quiet down a bit!)
• Monkey see- monkey do.  Jane is great at imitating us lately.  She repeats us in the most unexpected moments, too. 
• Right before Christmas I was really sick and Daniel brough me a cup of crushed ice to eat.  Jane wanted one too, so we sat on the couch with our mugs of ice.  I took a spoonful and said "Mmmmm, this is perfect".  Jane then took a spoonful and said, "Mmmmm, delicious"! 
• Jane is a great mommy to her babies.  He loves to take them on walks in the little stroller (and she always makes sure that the seat belt is buckled up).  She takes them shopping through the basement with the grocery cart. She loves them and cuddles them and sings to them.  She changes their diapers when they are stinky.  We always seem to be short on washclothes because she takes them into her room to use as blankets for her babies.  I will often see all of her babies on the floor in her room, tucked in for a nap.  She will come out and tell us that we need to be quiet because baby is sleeping. 
• She will say please and thank you and it seriously melts my heart.  I love handing her a cup of juice and hearing her tell me thank you!  She has learned to 'beg' using clasped hands held up to her face and a long 'please' when she really wants something.
• I think that Jane is really a fish.  She loves the water!  She will take long baths and enjoy every second of it.  She absolutely loves to go swimming.  When her hair is wet it is super long- it comes more than half way down her back.  When it is dry and curly it is just a little bit past her shoulders.  Jane loves to put lotion on her tummy and face.  She likes to get a small dot of lotion on both hands, match them together and then rub. 
• Clothes.  Oy veh.  Her clothes.  She loves to wear skirts.  If she has a clean skirt, she will pick it out over a pair of pants.  She has acquiesced to wearing leggings or tights underneath so that she isn't so cold during the winter.  She has a very opinionated idea as to what she should wear for any given day, so I moved all of her shirts down where she can reach them and let her be the one to decide.  She has been known to change her mind and change her outfit anywhere between two to five times a day.  When she takes a shirt off of the hanger, she puts the hanger back on the rod and if she changes her mind about a shirt, she will put it back on the hanger and hang it up.  She will also put all of her dirty clothes in her hamper, so I am grateful that she keeps things organized even though it drives me crazy that she changes her clothes so often!
• Jane is a big helper around the house.  She likes to help the boys empty the dishwasher in the mornings.  She will grab the utensils and put them where they belong in the drawer.  She will also put the plastic food dishes away and most other things that are stored in the lower cabinets.  Even though it takes a little bit longer to have her help, the boys seem to appreciate the help!  She likes to fold the dish towels and to help put the clothes in the dryer.  I will hand her the clothes from the washer and she will throw them into the dryer often commenting that the clothes are wet and cold! 
• The girl loves chocolate (she calls it cha-kit) and peanut butter. I love peanut butter, too, so we will get our spoons and dig into the peanut butter together! Sometimes we'll sprinkle the spoon with chocolate chips!
• Jane loves to get her nails painted!  She is really good about holding still just long enough to get them painted and dried.  She is so much fun!  She hangs out with me while I do my hair and make up.  She has her own little brush that I let her use to rub on her face.  She always giggles when I brush it over her cheeks.  I don't know how long it will be before she realizes that I'm not putting any makeup on the brush though! 
• Daniel fell asleep on the couch one afternoon.  Jane got her blanket off of her bed and put it over him.  A few minutes later I noticed that she had propped her baby doll next to his arms and put her binkie next to his face. 

I am so grateful to have little Jane in my life.  She exudes happiness and a love for life.  She has a gift to make other people around her happy.   I am so lucky to be her mom!

Jane squealed with delight when Madeleine let her try on a ring at Scheels

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Daniel and Jane: the cutest father/daughter duo ever (to live in our house!)